This invention relates generally to fuel pre-heat devices and particularly to a pre-heat device by which fuel is heated before being supplied to an engine.
It is well known that supplying heated fuel to a gasoline or diesel engine results in more efficient utilization of the fuel by providing a more combustible mixture. Several patents disclose heat transfer devices which are intended to produce this advantage.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,925,032 for example discloses a container which is secured to an automobile exhaust pipe and provided with means for spacing the container from the pipe to adjust the heat transfer. The container includes perforated baffles through which the fuel is passed but only a small area of the container is in contact with the exhaust pipe and thus heat transfer is limited. U.S. Pat. No. 1,202,610 discloses a coil disposed about an exhaust pipe to heat water for later mixing with gasoline. Another patent, German Pat. No. 807,147 discloses the use of a fuel line loop inserted within a radiator hose to pre-heat the fuel which requires special sealing for the fuel line.
The present invention provides a pre-heat device having advantages not found in the above or other examples of the known prior art.